Whispering Shadow
by MidnightEden234
Summary: Ichigo is positive that there's something wrong with his house, but no one ever believes him. They can't see what he can, knocking trees, screaming doors, footsteps in the hallway, a white figure in the mirror. Maybe he's just going crazy? Or maybe his shadow really did kill his mother all those years ago? And now it's back for him. HichiIchi / Dark / Horror / Character Deaths


**I think I'm gonna have fun with this one! :D Been a while since I've felt so calm about a story…**

**Anyways, my dear friend (Yeah huh, you know who you are!) sent me a picture, and together we came up with this idea! Okay, it's mostly hers… but still!**

**Chapter Warnings: Generously rated T this chapter. Horror themed. Definitely HichiIchi, so that means yaoi.**

**_+=oOo=+_**

Ichigo was seven when it first happened.

He was sitting on his bed next to his mother, Masaki. She was reading him a bed time story, and Ichigo was insistent on listening to it over and over again. Since it was Friday and Ichigo didn't have school the next day, Masaki agreed to read him the story… again.

"…the end." She finished, closing the book and placing it on her lap.

Ichigo's grin was almost comical. He shouted, "Read it again, mommy! Please?"

Masaki rolled her eyes. "Alright, but only once, and you'd better be asleep before I finish!"

Ichigo nodded. He placed his stuffed lion next to him then shuffled under the blankets. After settling in, he looked to Masaki with huge, pleading brown eyes.

Masaki started reading again. "Once upon a time…"

This story was Ichigo's favourite. He loved imagining the fierce dragon, the beautiful princess, the fearless knight and the wicked witch. His favourite character was the knight. He'd imagine a sturdy silver sword and a mighty shield, he'd create all the small details of the knight's armour in his mind, and sometimes he'd imagine himself as the knight.

Before Masaki finished the story, Ichigo had fallen fast asleep. She kissed him on the cheek and put the book away, flicking off the lights before she left.

A storm began to brew outside. The tree branches tapped the windows like a silhouette of bones asking for entrance. The old floors creaked and cracked, sounding like footsteps approaching Ichigo's room. Thunder cracked outside, startling the young Ichigo out of his sleep.

_**Tap… tap… tap.**_

Ichigo gulped and slid out of bed. He approached the door slowly, and with each step the knocking quieted down. He took hold of the door handle and slowly pulled it open. The door swung on its hinges with a loud scream. Nothing. There was nothing in the hall way.

Ichigo turned around, ready to go back to bed. He became frozen in terror when he saw a skeleton, smiling, bits and pieces of pale skin patched about his bloody body. Its eyes were blank, empty, hollow…

Lightning lit up the room, revealing a frame around a mirror where the skeleton was, Ichigo's reflection. A demonic smile graced the skeleton's features for a split second before it vanished with the lightning.

Yuzu screamed.

Ichigo immediately forgot about his reflection for the sake of his baby sister. He ran down the hall to where his two younger twin sisters slept. He entered their room, pushing open the pink door at the end of the hallway. He approached Yuzu's crib. She was completely silent when he entered the room. Her big eyes, full of innocence and wonder, met his childish yet older brown. She reached out a tiny hand, her other hand holding herself steady as she stood on young legs. Ichigo smiled, taking her hand in his.

"It's okay, Yuzu, the sky's just angry." Ichigo explained. She giggled at him. Ichigo helped her lie back down and just as he placed her on her back, Masaki entered the room.

"What's wrong Yuzu? Oh, Ichigo, what're you doing out of bed?"

"I'm helping Yuzu sleep, mommy," Ichigo answered. "I helped her lie down. I did it just like you did!"

Masaki smiled. She approached the crib to check on Yuzu, patting Ichigo on the head to say he'd done a good job. "Come on then, let's get you back to bed."

Masaki read Ichigo the story again.

**_+=oOo=+_**

The image in Ichigo's mirror had been forgotten for two years. It wasn't until Ichigo turned nine that he saw his horrific reflection staring back at him.

Isshin took Karin and Yuzu out for a walk. Ichigo was still asleep, and somehow Masaki had convinced Isshin not to wake his son up with a flying love kick.

Ichigo was asleep under the covers; his blinds closed leaving his room in the darkness. A white, bony hand pulled the covers off the young boy. The figure traced delicate lines across Ichigo's skin, rubbing and kneading the oblivious boy into a fine sleep. A smirk played across cracked lips. The figure leaned down, kissing Ichigo's lips, and as he did a bit more of his dead flesh came back to life.

Ichigo rolled onto his side. He opened his eyes just as the figure vanished. His stomach grumbled loudly just as Masaki called, "Ichigo! Lunch time! Are you awake yet honey?"

Ichigo yawned and stretched out his limbs. He shuddered as a cold chill washed over him, the curtain's wind caressing the soft skin on his arms. "I'm coming mommy!"

Ichigo hopped out of bed, his almost lifeless friend following behind him through his shadow. Ichigo was about halfway downstairs when he heard something strange.

_**Drip… drip… drip.**_

"Mommy?" He called. Ichigo shrugged it off as a loose tap.

He took another step, and another, and another. The stairs creaked and the leaves knocked on the windows. Ichigo reached the bottom of the stairs. He turned into the kitchen, smiling at the plate of grilled cheese sitting on the counter. Ichigo reached for the plate, picking up a sandwich when the noise came again. He turned around.

The plate shattered against the floor. Ichigo cut open his feet rushing for his mother, who lay on the floor surrounded by broken shards of glass. Her throat had been slit, her eyes ripped out, there were scratch marks all across her body and blood beneath her finger nails. It was as if something had gotten under her skin and she had been trying to claw it out.

When his father returned home, Ichigo immediately tried to explain that the house killed Masaki. His father dismissed Ichigo's story as nothing more than the shock of losing someone very close to him at such a young age. Little did Isshin know, Ichigo could see the murderer in the mirrors. In the crystal clear glass there was his reflection, pale white with hollow black eyes.

**_+=oOo=+_**

**Told ya it was horror themed… You can't say I didn't warn you! And hey, if you ignore my introductions that's your fault if you miss something important…**

**Please review, everyone loves getting reviews. It's always nice to hear what others think! Flamers will be beaten to near death with a shovel. ;D (just had to say that!)**


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